Always Be My Maybe
by Infinite Snow
Summary: Based on the 2016 Filipino romantic-comedy, "Always Be My Maybe". An artist whose heart is broken when her boyfriend dumps her for another girl and a playboy whose heart is shattered when his ex has moved on. Both work together to help each other forget their ex's and find love in the process? [Youichi/Mikan]
1. PROLOGUE: When It All Began

**A/N: Watched this movie on the plane WITH subtitles. It is a Filipino movie called, "Always Be My Maybe". I tried to base it off of it as much as I could but I want to say… I DO NOT OWN THAT MOVIE!**

It was a cute party and Youichi Hijiri was surrounded by his married friends. The only one who wasn't married was him; the player.

The wives were raving over each other's children, elbowing their husbands in the abdomen and forcing them to agree to whatever random comment they made with each other in their petty little discussion.

"OH MY GOD," Sumire burst, "I just finished decorating my baby's room. Would you guys like to see it?"

Instantly the wives agreed, but the husbands politely declined.

The wives all rushed away and then the guys finally looked at the loner at their table, with some kind of pitying expression that the grey haired man had no one to call his own.

"You know, it wouldn't hurt to date a girl seriously," Koko said.

"Yeah, maybe you might settle down finally," Tsubasa shrugged.

"Guys, hang on. I already have a girl in mind," Youichi announced.

"You do? Who?" Kitsuneme asked.

"Aoi," Youichi smirked back as he leaned back in his chair.

"Your ex-girlfriend? You two broke up a year ago!" Tsubasa yelled.

Youichi rolled his eyes as he folded his arms behind his head, "I am a player. I can woo her with a romantic date ended by a proposal."

"Wait, now you're gonna propose? You could at least date her for a while," Koko argued.

"Yeah but I know her too well. She will coming back for me with just a look from me," Youichi smirked arrogantly.

The other guys at the table sighed and shook their heads. Nothing could really change his mind once he placed his pride on the line. They had hoped he would find a girl that would make him do and feel wonders like their wives had done to them.

-x-

Youichi was looking at all the ugly engagement rings worth thousands and thousands of dollars in one of the best jeweler shops in Japan. Next to him, his assistant, Nobara, was snickering at the hideous jewelry.

"How about this one?" The salesperson asked, exasperated, showing a square cut diamond on top of a white gold ring.

"Um, I would like to say that this girl I want to marry is such a special person to me. We have been together for 5 years and she put up with me that whole time so I want the best of the best ring for her," Youichi flashed a charming smile as he said the cheesy line.

Nobara snorted at the corny line but otherwise kept quiet.

The salesperson got misty eyed and took out the most expensive ring the shop had.

"How about this one? Princess cut," the jeweler beamed.

Youichi looked at it for a full minute before nodding, "I'll take it."

-x-

As Mikan packed up her paint bag and cleaned up her brushes and other tools, her phone beeped. A text message from her boyfriend!

 _From: Natsume Hyuuga_

 _To: Mikan Yukihira_

 _Sent at: 6:30 PM_

 _Message: I have a reservation at our favorite restaurant. I have something to give you._

Mikan squealed as she read the short, but brief message. The door opened and in came an annoyed Hotaru, followed by her husband, Ruka.

"What is it?" Hotaru snapped.

"Natsume says he has something to give me! Maybe it could be a ring!" Mikan exclaimed.

"Nonsense. It would be an attitude adjuster," Hotaru spat.

"No! It would be a ring!" Mikan yelled.

"Sakura-san, I hate to disagree, but Hotaru has a point. He has been extremely distant lately. Don't you think these are the signs of a breakup coming soon?" Ruka asked.

"No! I just know it! He was probably saving up for a wedding! And a big ring!" Mikan fantasized, not wanting to sound materialistic, but she couldn't help it; her parents died before they could have a proper wedding and it was Yuka's wish for her to get married even if she never has kids.

Hotaru wanted to reason with Mikan and hopefully not get her hopes too much. But Ruka held her back and shook his head. When Hotaru scowled at him he whispered in his girlfriend's ear, "Don't worry. If she gets rejected, we'll be there for her. Like always, remember?"

Hotaru sighed but accepted the compromise.

-x-

Mikan arrived on time at the restaurant and walked up to the counter and said, "A reservation for Hyuuga Natsume?"

The man nodded and looked up his name in the book. But then a look of confusion came when he didn't spot Natsume's name in the list of reservations.

"I-I'm his girlfriend and he told me he had a reservation," Mikan quickly introduced herself, "Yukihira Mikan."

"I don't see his name on the list, Yukihira-san," the man apologized, "But there is a free table over there. Let me lead you over there."

Mikan hesitantly nodded and followed the waiter to the said table, near the back of the restaurant. Once she reached the table, she placed down her purse and ordered some water for herself because she barely had enough money herself, as she didn't take too much money with her. She thought her boyfriend would pay it, like always.

A couple of tables away, Youichi had the table prepared with flowers, chocolates and a giant teddy bear as he waited for his ex-girlfriend to come. Aoi is Natsume's little sister and he knew that if he could sway Aoi's heart, then he might be able to convince Natsume to let him marry her.

Aoi hesitantly came to the table and Youichi sprang up from his chair to pull out one for Aoi. The raven haired girl hesitantly sat down as she waited for her ex to speak.

"I wanted to say I was a jerk in letting you go, and I am deeply in love with you," Youichi paused as he got down on one knee and opened up the black velvet box, containing the ring, "Will you marry me?"

Aoi's eyes bugged out of her skull and her head whipped around to make sure that nobody was seeing this flashy scene. Embarrassed, she pulled Youichi to his feet and motioned for him to sit down.

"Youichi, you're too late," Aoi whispered.

"What do you mean? Are you m-married?" Youichi frantically checked Aoi's left ring finger, and was relieved to find it bare.

"No, but you're too late, one year too late, I found someone else. I don't want to marry you," Aoi said.

Youichi froze, and he felt so foolish. He bought those flowers, the chocolates and the bright pink teddy bear all for Aoi (even though he hated the color he swallowed it all for that girl). And not to mention, he blew his money for a designer engagement ring. And this is how he got repaid?

Aoi patted his shoulder and got up and left the restaurant. Youichi scoffed. Guess he was throwing away all that expensive stuff he bought.

Back at Mikan's table, the brunette had been waiting for over an hour and hadn't caught sight of her boyfriend. She was getting worried and stopped by a waiter who happened to know the couple very well.

"Sir, do you know if my boyfriend is coming or not?" Mikan asked.

The waiter shook his head gravely and took something from behind his back. It was all the paint books and expensive art supplies she had gifted to Natsume over the years of their relationship, all untouched.

"He told me to give these things back to you and to say thank you for all of your generosity, but he actually was never into art as you were. I'm so sorry," the waiter placed the items in Mikan's hands as he walked away sadly.

Suddenly the brunette's phone buzzed, indicating an alert. A text message, but not from Natsume, but Hotaru.

 _From: Hota-chan_

 _To: Yukihira Mikan_

 _Sent at: 8:00 PM_

 _Message: CHECK NATSUME'S FACEBOOK PROFILE!_

Curious, Mikan did just that. She looked up Natsume on Facebook and clicked 'About'. His relationship status made her heart stop.

Natsume had been in a relationship with Koizumi Luna, her enemy, for at least a month. All behind her back.

Suddenly she didn't feel hungry at all and she grabbed her things and fled the restaurant.

At the same time, the heartbroken couple, Youichi and Mikan got into their cars. Mikan was full on weeping by now and Youichi had a hardened expression of hatred and anger. This was the last time he would ever let girls affect him the way Aoi did.

"Tch, girls are stupid anyways," Youichi grumbled.

-x-

Mikan burst into her neighborhood to see her friends waiting on their porch at their house, next to her's.

"Mikan what happened?" Ruka asked.

"You idiot, I told you!" Hotaru growled, "I hope those are tears of joy to find out you don't have to spend time on that idiot."

Mikan shook her head and burst into her own house, now feeling even worse. Ruka scolded his girlfriend for being a little too insensitive.

-x-

Mikan cleaned herself up after hours and hours of crying and opened her camcorder on her laptop and forced a smile.

She was a youtuber who made tutorials about love by using art as metaphors.

"My next tutorial is how to erase your boyfriend from your life. You will need some sharpies and erasers and a ton worth of papers to do this!" Mikan hiccupped as she wiped a couple tears away.

 **TBC…**


	2. Drinks, 20 Questions and Speed Dating

After Mikan had moped over her ex-boyfriend, she knew sooner or later, she had to delve back into her work, as she had more clients to paint portraits of.

"You are one hour late!" Jinno yelled once she came to the picturesque beach she was supposed to paint one couple's portrait at.

"Ah but I am here, am I not?" Mikan smiled teasingly as she hurriedly rummaged through her stuff and set up her equipment.

"I swear, if you keep coming late, then I will have to deduct money out of your pay," Serina shook her head.

Mikan gasped in horror, "You wouldn't?!"

"I think she will if you don't start that portrait," Jinno snapped.

Mikan hurriedly began to do a quick sketch of the couple and some of the basics of the landscape behind them when the girlfriend began to gush over the guy who stepped out of the beach resort.

"He is sooooooo cute," the girl gushed and her eyes pointed to… a grey haired young man.

Mikan's eyes narrowed. _Since when do young men have grey hair?_

And he turned and Mikan could sense it. The guy with captivating emerald eyes reeked this bad-ass aura, with a heavy tinge of playboy attitude. This guy was probably your typical cheater. Mikan's cheeks bloomed with a rosy hue but she forced her gaze away from the attractive young man. Guys like him reminded her of Natsume. That cheater.

The brunette glowered at her easel, angry at herself that she would naïvely remind herself of her ex when she saw such a goodlooking guy.

"Oh aren't you that YouTube sensation? Made advice videos on love?" The girl exclaimed.

"I guess… but my other ones sucked so I deleted them…" Mikan mumbled.

"I heard you got dumped on your anniversary or something like that," the guy explained, "I'm sorry."

"Thanks," Mikan sighed, "It wasn't an anniversary. It was something that was supposed to be a date and it wasn't one. Turns out instead of a proposal, he wanted to drop off some stuff."

"Ouch, that's rough," the girl whistled in sympathy, "But wait. Why did you delete your other videos."

Mikan focused on the different intensities of hue of the scene before her before choosing out her palate. Shrugging she said, "Haven't you seen me in those videos? Love struck and so dumb. Constantly hoping my first relationship would be my only one and wanting extravagant things to cover up the distance between us. I just wanted to delete all the stupidity and make real videos that help with all aspects of love, not just the light side."

"I-I'm sorry," the girl stammered, "I sometimes take it for granted. I guess I never tell my boyfriend how appreciative I am to have such a stable and happy relationship."

"It's okay, just don't hit on other guys," the guy grinned at his girlfriend in a joking manner.

"Hitting? Nah I was being sarcastic. Sure he might look good, but he's nothing compared to you," the girl beamed.

Mikan secretly smiled behind her easel, using the canvas as a way to hide her emotions. She loved it when she indirectly made couples reconcile for the smallest of problems. Now it was her mission to make sure relationships don't end up like her recent one.

-x-

Youichi stretched as he finally got out of his resort room in god knows how many days. When he finally got out of his room, he was greeted by his best friend and brother, Persona.

"Listen, you really need to get out of here. Quit moping over the fact that Aoi moved on too quickly and do what she did – move on," Persona persuaded.

"But it's not easy," Youichi argued.

"Says a playboy," Nobara snorted, "Since when did you become all romantic and touchy feely with girls? You play 'em like you're not going to live to see tomorrow. And that's what you should do now."

"But where do I even start?" Youichi asked.

"You're asking me?" Nobara asked, "You're the god of heartbreaking and you're asking advice from me?"

"Yeah because a year of being a bachelor had made me rusty," Youichi rolled his eyes.

"Well you could start with that girl over there," Persona pointed at a girl with straight bands and long brown hair, painting on an easel.

"She does look cute…" Youichi mused, but to say cute in his opinion was an understatement. She was f*cking gorgeous.

"But most importantly, come home. Dad misses you," Persona pleaded, placing a hand on Youichi's shoulder.

"Hn. Maybe," Youichi snapped, ending the argument right there.

Nobara sighed. Once Youichi became cold and stubborn, there was no use to reason with him. Youichi would just be rigid and even more irrational with further prodding.

"Well it's a better answer than no," Nobara whispered to Persona, who shrugged.

-x-

"You know," Hotaru said, puffing on a cigarette, "It's been ages since you flirted with a guy."

"Maybe that's because I have been dating Natsume, Hota-chan," Mikan said, annoyed with the inventor.

"Maybe it wouldn't hurt to just dip your feet back into the dating pool," Ruka suggested.

Mikan looked incredulous at her two best friends, "Are you crazy? I broke up with Natsume not too long ago and you want me to start dating?"

"Well he moved on pretty quick, I thought you may as well give him a taste of his own medicine," Hotaru mused, "I mean, you don't have to find your soul mate super-duper quick, just find a guy, change your Facebook status, and make him jealous. When you have had your fun, you can breakup with the loser."

Mikan threw her hands up as she sighed, "Well where am I going to find a guy like that?"

Hotaru smirked as she pointed behind Mikan, "How about that guy? He's cute."

Mikan followed the direction of Hotaru's index finger and her eyes rested on that 'playboy' she saw earlier.

"Ew, no!" Mikan whisper-yelled.

Hotaru shrugged, twirling around her cigarette as she puffed out smoke, "Told you, Nogi, she can't do it."

Mikan, feeling taunted by the raven's words, glared at her best friends, and got up noisily. She hastily shoved her chair back in and went over to Youichi's table, where the young man was immersed in his laptop.

"So, where's your girlfriend? I mean, wouldn't someone as good-looking as you have a girlfriend to take out on a date?" Mikan asked, bluntly.

Hotaru face-palmed and Ruka shook his head. They thought their best friend would flirt, but obviously they should've known how blunt she is.

"Hn. I don't have a girlfriend," Youichi said coldly.

"I'll say, no matter you don't! You sound like my ex! Saying 'hn' and being such a pessimist," Mikan retorted as she sat down in front of him.

"Why? Don't you have a boyfriend?" Youichi spat.

"Gimme your laptop," Mikan motioned for his laptop, and when Youichi seemed to hesitate, she gave him a look, "I will search him on Facebook, and you'll see why."

Youichi, unsure, turned his laptop to the brunette. With a few clicks and typing, Mikan pulled up the Facebook profile of Natsume Hyuuga. Then she turned it over back to Youichi.

"I don't understand," Youichi said.

"Look around his page," Mikan motioned.

Youichi clicked on various tabs of Natsume's profile. He didn't care where he went for education, his work history or his family members. But in the 'about' page, he saw the key to their breakup. Natsume was in a relationship with a 30 something slut, clearly a decade older than him.

"So he had been in a relationship for two months," Youichi observed, "When did you two break up?"

"A month ago," Mika sighed.

"You mean to say-"

"Yeah. He was secretly with a relationship with Luna for a month behind my back," Mikan nodded.

"That's- wow that's messed up," Youichi mumbled, trying not to sound too sympathetic but it was necessary.

"Oh well. I mean, the signs were there, but I never noticed them. I was stupid and my head was up in the clouds and I refused to believe that he was a cheater," Mikan shrugged.

There was a period of thick tension before Mikan decided to break it.

"Oh well, you know what solves all of our problems? Alcohol," Mikan grinned, "By the way who owns the place?"

"I do," Youichi shrugged indifferently, before waving over a waitress and ordering a whole bottle of wine.

A look at the brunette's shock, he shrugged, "Why a drink when you can have a whole bottle?"

When the waitress came over with a bottle and two glasses, Mikan stopped the young man from pouring a drink, saying, "Wait, why don't we play a game?"

Youichi's green eyes narrowed. _Because I play the games around here, not you._

"What kind of game?" He finally asked.

Mikan shrugged, "Oh just a simple game of Have You Ever? If you have done something that the person has asked, you have to take a shot of alcohol. And then you ask the person another question."

"And how do you win?" Youichi asked.

Mikan mysteriously smiled, "The game ends when either you ran out of all alcohol, which I think is impossible since this is a resort; or when you're too drunk to drink anymore."

Youichi poured a little wine in both of their glasses and gestured for the young brunette to ask her first question.

Mikan twirled around her glass before giving out a Cheshire-cat smile, "Have you ever cheated on a girl?"

Youichi drank his first shot of wine.

-x-

It was the wee hours of dawn and the pair had long abandoned their alcohol game with fear of becoming unconscious. But that still didn't prevent them from acting stupid.

"Ugh you look so old," Mikan complained, tugging at a tuft of Youichi's unnaturally grey hair.

"And you look like a child, with those chubby cheeks. I think you need to cut down on how much you eat," Youichi smirked back.

"Well you weren't my type anyways," Mikan pouted, "People aren't supposed to age as fast as you do."

"It's fine. You weren't either," Youichi smirked, even though he didn't feel happy when she said those words and when he forced these words out of his mouth. Something felt like he was lying to himself.

There was a comfortable silence between the two, until Youichi broke it.

"Can I have your number?" Youichi asked.

Mikan, being the stickler for grammar that she was, smirked and shrugged, "I dunno. Can you?"

Youichi face-palmed and shook his head; he hated being corrected by a girl; trying to stay calm, he asked again, "May I have your number?"

Mikan laughed and said, "Oh gosh you push too hard! But of course I accept!" (A/N: Reminds me of Edna from "The Incredibles")

Youichi unlocked his phone and handed it to Mikan. Trusting that she wouldn't venture into his phone other than trying to add her phone number, he didn't worry too much. Mikan input her address, email address and phone number and handed her phone to Youichi, asking him to input the same information.

When they returned each other's phones, they looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Well… I guess I could call you sometime and we could do something," Youichi said, unsure; he was now feeling extremely shy around a girl and this never happened to him.

"Okay," Mikan smiled and looked at the time, "Oh gosh I have work today so I better get going."

"Well I will call you, okay?" Youichi pressed.

Mikan was calling her favorite cab driver and gave him a dismissive wave of a hand, "Yeah, yeah, father. Got it."

Youichi's cheeks flushed at the comment, but otherwise he didn't say anything.

They stood like that until the cab came to pick up Mikan. The brunette placed her purse inside, but turned around to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Until we see each other again, playboy jerk," Mikan flashed him a brilliant smile that made it impossible to make Youichi angry at her teasing remark.

She got in, and the cab sped off. And for some reason, he couldn't wait to see her again.

 **TBC**

 **A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the late update! I actually am now a university student, so I hardly get time to update. I promised myself that I will never give up my account because on here I feel the place to vent my problems and I somehow feel okay.**

 **Update will be on the weekends, but ONLY WHEN I GET THE TIME. And for god's sake, quit asking me if a story is over. THERE WILL BE A 'COMPLETE' SIGN IF IT IS.**

 **Love,**

 **Infinite Snow**


	3. Flirting Gone Wrong

The two became the most unlikely of friends, which surprised Mikan's friends. Even though she succeeded in getting the phone number, she outdid the bet by becoming somewhat of a friend of his.

Mikan's phone rang as she was working on a client's picture.

"This better be important," Mikan snapped, dipping her brush into the water so she could fully talk on the phone.

"Geez, okay I'll get to the point. How about, we go to a café?" Youichi asked.

"Seriously? That's what you called me for? A meal at a teeny shop?" Mikan asked.

"Well I happen to know a café that has a lot of cute options for treats, I dunno, maybe you'll like to go there?" Youichi suggested.

Mikan rose an eyebrow as she huffed, "Y'know, for a bad boy, you sure are girly."

Youichi's cold demeanor broke when he heard that and stuttered, "I-I am o-only doing t-that because g-girls tend to like c-cute things!"

"Uh huh," Mikan said, unconvinced.

"Look, do you wanna go or not?!" Youichi yelled.

"Wow no need to get so worked up over a pretend date, but hey, I'll take you up on the offer. Only condition is you'll pay," Mikan smirked and said, "I think Thursday night will work for me. Okay? Okay, bye!"

"It's not a date!" Youichi yelled, but Mikan had already hung up.

Placing his phone for charging, the grey-haired young man softly smirked at the thought of Mikan.

"Thursday, huh?"

-x-

"So which pastries would you like?" Youichi asked.

Mikan had her face pressed up against the glass, looking eagerly at all the delicious treats made, all on mouthwatering display.

"Um…" Mikan stuttered, trying not to reveal her gluttonous side, because she wanted ALL the treats, "I'll have this and this treat."

Youichi rose an eyebrow. Why is she being so modest?

"You do realize you can have some more if you want," Youichi asked.

"Fine! I want this cake as well," Mikan smirked, taking his words seriously.

Youichi face-palmed and went to order Mikan's request and ordered a coffee for himself.

When the two situated, they ate for a couple minutes quietly and peacefully. Mikan was trying to remain modest and controlled in front of Youichi while the said man was sipping his black coffee, watching the girl in front of him, intently.

 _She has quite the appetite, apparently._

"So, I came to propose something," Youichi broke the silence.

Mikan rose an eyebrow, but kept munching on her piece of chocolate cake and mumbled, "Okay, go ahead."

"So… you're single, and I'm single and we're both young-"

"Does mid-twenties even count as young? I think that means closer to your thirties," Mikan snickered.

Youichi shot her a glare and continued, "So I thought how about we do some speed-dating. At a club."

Mikan put her fork down and rested her chin on the palms of her hands. Leaning forward, she looked him in the eye, while saying in a low voice, "And how do we do that?"

Youichi gulped at the close proximity but continued, "We go to the bar, drink and occasionally introduce people of the opposite sex to each other. If we're interested, we go on a date with the person. If we're not and if we grow tired, we can leave and try some other time."

Mikan wasn't a stuck up, but a laid-back person like her knew something as rash as this was NOT going to end well. But in the end, she realized she had to take any step to get over Natsume, and if it meant random hookups, then so be it.

"Let's do it."

-x-

Let's just say… surprisingly Mikan's intuition was correct. FOR ONCE.

The two were both drunk as hell and they were inviting random people to talk to them, desperate for any kind of love, attention or physical proximity of another human being's body.

Youichi would introduce the typical jocks to Mikan, you know those idiots who think about working out in the gym and having sex with sluts 24/7. The brunette would laugh in their faces and painfully turn them down in the most humiliating manner; and to be honest, Mikan didn't regret it. It serves them right for humiliating other women before her, so she thought they might as well give them a taste of their own medicine.

Mikan wasn't any better off than Youichi. She would introduce the typical sluts. Those attention-seeking whores who had an incredible bust and big butts (from breast implants and plastic surgeries) would immediately try to hit on Youichi.

After trying to match each other up a couple of times and failing miserably (as they resorted to grabbing random people off the dance floor), the two gave up and went to an ice cream parlor in an attempt to sober up from all the alcohol they drank.

"Okay, so that was…" Youichi trailed off.

"A disaster. And I think a jerk like me would use this moment to rub it in your face by saying 'I told you so'," Mikan grimaced, _"I told you so!"_

"Yeah, yeah, mommy, don't have to give me a lecture to accompany it. Besides, you looked like you had fun," Youichi argued.

"No, the alcohol took my mind off of things," Mikan shrugged, "I could care less about socializing."

Youichi quirked an eyebrow and leaned forward in interest at this. He knew only that her jerk of a boyfriend had the nerve to break it off on their anniversary, but besides that he didn't know much. She was the most mysterious person he ever met. And for some reason, it thrilled him.

"You think I am a closed off person, but in my defense, he was so much more reserved than I was," Mikan sighed sadly, toying around with her melting ice cream with her spoon, "It took him months to confess to me that he liked me and I kind of liked that bad boy aura that came with the package. Over-protectiveness, jealousy, and possessiveness. And when he started to become distant to me, I didn't suspect that he would be seeing someone behind my back. I just thought I was being too clingy and needed to give him some space to breathe.

"But I guess, whatever, right?" Mikan shrugged, "It's not like my dedication, loyalty and efforts mattered to him. I guess he thought of them as a nuisance."

"What would you like in another guy?" Youichi asked casually, trying to cover his racing heart, "You know, in your next boyfriend?"

Mikan snorted, breaking his heart, "Ain't gonna be another one. I'm done with guys, their mysterious ways and love. I am done loving others and being neglected in the end."

"Aren't you running away?" Youichi asked.

Mikan rolled her eyes as she snapped, "Huh, that's funny, _cupid_ , because if I didn't know any better I could say you could take your own advice."

Youichi snapped his mouth closed. He only told her that he was single. How would she know that he had a rough past with girls?

"You're a playboy, aren't you?" Mikan smirked, "I knew it, from the moment I met you. You have this superiority vibe that comes with most bad boys. I won't say you treated girls badly but you sure did went through a lot of unsuccessful relationships, and now the way you look at other girls is like they are children who don't know how to behave, who need a scolding to set them straight. And what you don't understand is that just like me, you're closed off to this alien emotion we call love."

The grey haired man looked at his coffee in silence, with nothing to refute her claim. He may have underestimated her the moment he met her. Mikan's playful personality and the fact that she is a fair-skinned brunette made him think that she's as stupid as a blonde girl (but even that stereotype is proven incorrect).

"Oh my gosh! It's 2 AM! I have work today at 9 AM!" Mikan yelled, looking at her watch.

"What do you do for a living?" Youichi asked.

"Painting. I paint couples' portraits or paint whatever they want because some people are old-fashioned in this world and would prefer paintings over technology," Mikan shrugged, "But by the way do you have a passion?"

"What?" Youichi asked.

"Do you have a passion in life?" Mikan asked, seriously, "Because you don't look happy with whatever you do for a living right now."

"It's a family business, and of course I am not happy," Youichi murmured.

"And that is why I am asking you again, what is your passion in life?" Mikan asked impatiently.

"Not sure if I should be trusting this with a stranger," Youichi said skeptically.

Mikan gasped, "Excuse me? I am not a stranger, you know my name and phone number! And it's not like I am demanding your social security number! Well I see how it is, I'll go."

As the brunette went to go leave, she heard him say, "Photography."

Mikan smirked, yanked a business card from her purse and slipped it on the table.

"That's the number of the studio I work at. They have a need for people who have a passion for photography. Call if you're interested, and if you are, I will see you at my work tomorrow at 9 AM," Mikan smiled and left the café.

The grey haired young man pondered over Mikan's words and picked up the glossy card. Reading the number, he mused, "Sakura Petals Institute, huh?"

Oh the other side of the card were the metallic numbers which was the phone number Mikan mentioned. Stuffing the card in his pockets and slamming the money down on the table, he left.

"I might give it a try," Youichi said aloud, somewhat of an answer to Mikan's offer.

-x-

Mikan pressed the 'record' button and sat in front of the camera. Making an annoyed face, she began her tutorial of the week called, "How to paint on a pokerface."

"You're going to need a LOT of correction fluid to cover up those mistakes," Mikan said as she took a bottle of white out from her desk.

"Let's start! How to conceal those emotions so boys don't get to us!" Mikan cheerily took out a masquerade mask and paused.

"This will be a long and emotionally tiring tutorial. Feel free to rewind if you need to," Mikan grinned as she started her 20-minute talk about how to hide facial expressions.

-x-

Mikan was exhausted that morning. After doing her promised tutorial of the week, she went to sleep at 5 and had to get up 3 hours later to get ready for work.

As she set her stuff down and unpacked her materials, she heard the door open and was shocked to see Youichi come in, not her boss.

"I didn't think you'd say yes," Mikan breathed out.

Youichi smirked, messing with his hair, "What, am I not allowed to?"

"No but I thought you would take some time to reconsider it, you know a couple of days. Not overnight decision," Mikan sighed, "You did say you were in charge of your family business. How did you convince them?"

"I didn't. I said I am sick so I need a day off. I thought I would visit this place and see if I want to do photography over here," Youichi shrugged, "So what do I do?"

"Oh no you don't ask me, you ask Serina and Jinno who are over there," Mikan smirked, "I am just an employee."

Youichi nodded but didn't leave without saying, "Thank you. For encouraging to do what I enjoy the most."

Mikan flushed but tried to play it off cool, saying, "Well if you do what you love the most, then it isn't work anymore."

Youichi stunned, watched the brunette smile and work with the first customer for the day.

 _Doing what you love the most gives you the most happiness._

 **TBC…**


	4. Disaster Double Dating

At the end of a work day, one week after Mikan convinced Youichi to consider the job, she packed her art supplies and was going to go to her home when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

Mikan swiveled around and was about to knee the person in the gut when her rational side kicked in and forced her to analyze the person before making such a bold move. She relaxed when she realized it was just Youichi.

"You gave me a fright. What's up?" Mikan asked.

"Well they offered me a job to do scenic photography," Youichi said nonchalantly.

"Oh my gosh that's amazing! So what did you say?" Mikan beamed.

"Well, I have to think about it. I do have a family business to run. I need to get my dad's permission to leave it," Youichi explained.

"So you gonna see him?" Mikan asked.

"Well… I don't have the best relationship with him… I haven't seen him in a while," Youichi mumbled.

"What happened? Don't want to be pushy, but what happened?" Mikan probed, curiously.

He shook his head and said, "Just got all distant with him, no drama. It's just, every time I try to do what I want, he doesn't like that and uses the family pride as some kind of guilt card to reel me back in and I hate it. I somehow feel like I am chained to the job."

The said brunette stopped walking and faced him, "You can't be 'chained' to a job. You have to be firm with him and be demanding of what you want to do. You can't be seen as a spoilt brat because you want to pursue something you like."

Youichi nodded and said, "I'll talk to him. But anyways, do you want to just do another round of speed dating next Thursday? You know, to celebrate me getting a job offer. "

Mikan instantly frowned and said, "I dunno. Remember what happened the last time?"

"I swear. Last time, I promise!" Youichi pleaded.

"Okay, LAST TIME," Mikan sighed.

-x-

Let's just say… the brunette's intuition was correct. AGAIN.

But this time, the two were able to find respectable matches who didn't look too desperate in the crowd of horny young people drunk off their sorry asses.

Mikan's date was Akito, an engineer. Seemed educated and well off, so Youichi hastily introduced him to Mikan.

Youichi's date was Yuki, a shy but independent girl. Mikan thought she would make a good match because she seemed different than all those dependent hoes that would flock to Youichi at the club.

But, against the requests of Youichi and Mikan to have a double date at the same restaurant at the same time, Akito and Yuki had two different restaurants they preferred, so having a double date like they originally planned was in ruins.

"So I guess I'll see you later?" Mikan asked as she looped her hand with Akito's.

Youichi curtly nodded. Somehow seeing Mikan with another guy on a date made him feel jealous. Almost like… he wanted to be that guy.

-x-

Hearing Akito's sexual references made Mikan wonder one thing: _what did Youichi see in this guy when setting me up with him?_

"These noodles are hot… but not as hot as you," Akito smirked, glancing at Mikan's food and back at her.

Mikan started to squirm uncomfortably. Could this guy get any more boring with those overused clichéd lines or his sexual side? He's disgusting and his façade must have been good because he fooled her friend.

Akito took the squirming that Mikan was getting sexually aroused by his sexual innuendos, so he decided to make the situation worse by making more.

There were only so many sexual jokes that the brunette could take before her patience snapped in half. So she slipped her phone out of her pocket, and half-concentrating on Akito's boring voice, she secretly diverted her eyes on her phone as she shot a quick text to Youichi.

 _To: Youichi_

 _From: Mikan_

 _Message: Dude, why did you set me up with this guy? He's a sexual pervert who might rape me at the end of the date!_

Youichi's side of the date wasn't much better. Instead of a sexually creepy person, his date was a bitchy person. She was nowhere near the "shy but independent" person Mikan described to him.

Apparently, Yuki has a friend who is in a serious relationship and it bothers her that her friend is happy in a loving, stable, long-lasting relationship.

 _Why is it so troubling to her that her best friend is happy? I am doubting she is a 'best friend' if she bashes on her friend's love life._

Suddenly his phone buzzed, and so his attention was diverted away from the annoying girl, happy to know that he had some kind of diversion away from her glitch, auto-tuned voice. It was a text message from Mikan. For some reason, his heart sped up when he got a text message from her. But then the good feeling fleeted when he read the text.

Instantly his fingers went into auto-pilot as his fingers hastily shot a reply, while at the same time, kept an eye on Yuki.

 _To: Mikan_

 _From: Youichi_

 _Message: Make up some kind of emergency excuse and ditch the date. I will do the same. Let's meet up at our favorite café._

Mikan's phone quietly buzzed and the brunette checked the text. She came up with a convincing excuse as she comically froze.

"What's wrong?" Akito asked, suddenly having to stop a sexual reference.

"My-my best friend has been in a car accident…" Mikan trembled.

"Oh no, that's bad. Here, I'll come with you," Akito took his wallet and was about to pay when he was stopped by Mikan.

"No, it's okay you should enjoy yourself, just I really need to hurry. The doctors say he granted only me permission to see him because I am his best friend. Goodbye!" Mikan tearfully said as she dashed out of the restaurant.

The brunette dashed as fast as she could, hoping the creepy sexist guy wasn't stalking her or anything.

On Youichi's side, he pretended to check a text and forced an awestruck/panicked expression in mid-rant of Yuki's distaste with love and relationships.

"Ugh, what's wrong?" Yuki forced herself to care.

"My friend's girlfriend is in labor!" Youichi exclaimed, "He told me I should go!"

Yuki rose an eyebrow as she said, "Why?"

"Because he named me the godfather of the baby, and so it is important that I go," Youichi said as he slapped down a wad of cash down.

Yuki, eyeing the money, now realized that he was rich and then became all concerned, not wanting to lose this rich stranger she just met.

"Should I come with you?" Yuki formed fake sympathy.

"No it's okay, I am in a rush and they won't let strangers in. Goodbye," Youichi said and he rushed out of the door without another word.

Yuki watched him leave, and shrugged. She decided that with the money left over from paying for the bill, she could go on a shopping spree at Tiffany's the next day.

-x-

The brunette ordered ice cream (because somehow it calmed her down after stressful events) and the grey-haired young man ordered a coffee, to keep him alert.

"So, just refresh me, what does a jerk say after what fiasco just happened?" Mikan seethed.

"I told you so," Youichi whispered.

" _I TOLD YOU SO? I TOLD YOU SO!"_ Mikan harshly whispered enough to make Youichi wince but not for someone to hear them.

"I know, hey if it makes you feel better, I talked to my dad," Youichi said, trying to change the subject.

"Really? What did he say?" Mikan asked, smiling.

"Well…"

 _Flashback_

 _After warm greetings and hugs from Persona, Youichi asked to talk to his dad. It was awkward socializing with his dad after god knows how long. But then they warmed up enough for Youichi to gather the courage to ask his dad the one question he even bothered showing his face at the doorstep for._

" _Hey dad? I have something to ask," Youichi said._

" _Well you already asked a question, but go ahead," father said._

" _I want to leave the family business," Youichi blurted out._

 _The man leaned forward and asked, "And may I ask why?"_

 _For some reason he was starting to lose his confidence. All of a sudden, he kind of regretted coming all the way here to ask a question because a girl made him question the things he is doing wrong with his life. But if he came here, he might as well get it over with._

" _I want to pursue photography," Youichi said._

 _Father leaned back, then shrugged and said, "You sure? I always knew it was a hobby of yours. Are you okay with making it a full-time job?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Then who am I to stop you? Go for it," the man smiled._

 _End of flashback_

"It was… awkward but like you told me to, I stood my ground and kept insisting that what I wanted to do was correct and he said for me to go for it," explained Youichi.

"That's great! See, I knew you could do it! All you had to do was stay firm!" Mikan beamed.

"So I am gonna start working in two days. So excited for it," Youichi smiled.

The young man took his wallet and was ready to pay, like always, when the bill was returned to the waiter, paid in full. Astonished, he looked to the brunette for her reasoning.

"Look, with all the shit that happened today, I was about to pay. But then you told me the good news so I couldn't resist this one time only," Mikan smirked, "Consider it your good luck, okay?"

Youichi shook his head. This girl was the only girl who would never leech off of his wealth. And it all the more made him want him keep her close.

 **TBC…**

 **Sorry for the short update. I typed the whole chapter, then my computer crashed and I had to hastily re-create it so that the update comes up quick! Can't promise for a longer chapter, but hey, the most important thing is that I updated!**


	5. Will You Be My Pretend Valentine

One of Mikan's good friends, Nonoko was getting married to her longtime fiancé, Yuu, who also happened to be another one of her best friends. The brunette happily complied when the bride asked her to paint a portrait of her on her wedding day.

The brunette added a final touch to the painting and set the brush in water. She turned the easel around and let the bride inspect her work, to determine if it is worthy or not. If not, then she would take a picture to take home and make another painting.

"It's beautiful! I love it so much!" Nonoko gushed.

Mikan raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

Nonoko rapidly nodded her head, "I knew I could rely on you! Anna was trying to convince me to get someone else to do it but I knew that whoever she recommended me wouldn't be nearly as talented as you are, Mikan!"

Such kind words caused the corners of Mikan's mouth to curve upwards slightly, creating a soft smile on her lips. It brought her sheer joy when people took joy in her work. That's why she decided to become an artist, precisely a painter.

 _To paint the world around me._

"Well, I want you to take the rest of the day off," Nonoko said.

Mikan was startled as she blubbered, "But Nonoko, today is one of the biggest days of your life! You're getting married and I would be a horrible friend if I didn't spend it with you!"

Nonoko sighed and nodded and said, "Yes, I know, but today's Valentine's day, and you know what that means."

The brunette crossed her arms and huffed like a little child in timeout, "The day where I drink my problems away with the help of alcohol and buy chocolate for seventy percent off the next day."

The bride smirked but shook her head, "No, that's not how you're supposed to spend it. You go on a date with someone."

"Well where am I supposed to find a date, Nonoko?" Mikan asked.

She simply mysteriously smiled, "You have to find one yourself. Now go!"

And with that, the brunette was shoved out of the changing room. Mikan awkwardly walked near the walls, hoping to blend with it like a chameleon. Seeing all the happy couples, only one guy popped up in her head, and it was none other than that player she had been finding herself to be spending a lot of time with recently.

She called him, and after two rings, Youichi's voice answered with a husky, "Hello?"

"Youichi? Today's Valentine's Day, and I was wondering… could you take me on a date, pretending to be my Valentine? With Natsume I never properly celebrated it, and I would like to see what it feels like to have a Valentine," Mikan whispered into her phone.

"Yeah, sure, let me make reservations at a restaurant, and I'll text you the details," Youichi said.

After Mikan hung up, she went home to fix up her appearance, style her hair, place minimum makeup on and pair on subtle jewelry with her beautiful black dress.

Her phone buzzed once, signifying a text. Mikan checked it and sure enough, Youichi sent her the details of their dinner date.

She didn't know why she felt so nervous. It was a pretend date! She was recreating something her jerk of an ex never did, so why should she get butterflies about the thought of being on a date with him? He probably doesn't see any significance in this anyways.

Mikan locked her door and walked to the restaurant he mentioned, and since it wasn't a long distance, she decided to walk there instead of drive. She knew he would hate for them to leave in two separate cars. If it was one thing she learned from him, he loved to act like a total gentleman; paying the dinner bill, holding the door open, driving her to places.

As she got to the restaurant, she went to the front desk. Oh no… a wave of dread hit her. What if she got stood up, like her anniversary dinner with Natsume? What if he is no different from her ex?

"A reservation for Hijiri Youichi? I'm his friend, Yukihira Mikan," Mikan explained.

The receptionist nodded and looked through the list. Her eyebrows scrunched in concentration, and for a moment, the brunette's heart dropped in fear – he surely forgot her, and she wouldn't be surprised anyways.

"Aha here we go, yes he does have one," the girl smiled, "the waiter will take you to your table."

Mikan nodded, suddenly feeling relieved. A tall man led her to a table, and sure enough, Youichi was there like promised. And in his left hand, a red rose.

"I thought you weren't going to show up," Mikan whispered.

"Why wouldn't I?" Youichi asked.

"My ex stood me up on the day of our anniversary," the brunette answered.

"Well I'm here, aren't I? Look, a rose. Red for love, as it matches today's theme," Youichi handed Mikan a single red rose.

Mikan smiled and gingerly accepted the flower and sniffed its sweet fragrance. Then, setting it delicately next to her, she smiled at her pretend date.

"I hope you like our date," Youichi smiled as a waiter came to take their orders for the night.

-x-

The two ordered wine. Youichi maybe had one or two glasses of wine, but Mikan, wanting to ebb away all the pain in her heart, drank the rest of the bottle of wine.

The brunette got giggly and drunk very quick and more open and honest. Mikan leaned back in her seat and sighed happily. The two of them had finished their meals and were just talking; well it was mostly Mikan doing the talking.

"So I have a question," Youichi said and paused until Mikan was listening, "If I told you I loved you, what would you do?"

Mikan looked at him straight in the eyes with a blank expression so intense that he felt a shiver run up his spine; he was inclined to believe she was serious.

"If you did tell me that, I would kiss you senseless," she responded, her voice even and calm.

Youichi's palms began to sweat tremendously, his heart rate sped up and a fresh blush uncharacteristically covered his cheeks. _Huh?!_

Then her serious face broke out into a grin as she smiled, "Kidding!"

His face fell, and he didn't know why, but he felt like his heart dropped into his stomach. Even though this was a pretend date, he kind of felt upset that she didn't feel as serious about him as he felt about her.

"Disappointed, aren't you?" Mikan asked, cocking her head to the side drunkenly, "Well don't be. It's just a pretend date, and besides, what guy in their right mind would want to be with a woman as boring as I am? I mean my ex was a living example of my dull character."

At this self-degrading comment, the young man's hands clenched. On the contrary, she was opposite of what she said about herself.

But why wouldn't she see that? Why wouldn't she understand that her heartbreak wasn't her fault, but her stupid ex's? And that it's alright to move on?

"So, I have something to show you," Youichi said after a painful moment of forcing himself to hide his emotions.

"Okay, what is it?" Mikan asked obliviously, sipping her wine.

"Not here, at my place," Youichi shook his head, "You walked here anyways. I wouldn't let you go out by yourself at all at this hour."

-x-

"Wow, so this is your place?" Mikan asked.

"Well, my family's. The surprise will be in the basement," Youichi said, pulling the keys out of the ignition, and opening the door first for himself then walked around the car to open Mikan's.

"Come on," he said, motioning her towards the house.

They went inside the house and down the stairs to the said 'basement'. In the basement, there was a whole setup of cameras and equipment… almost like a model could have a complete photoshoot in here.

"Wow… this is amazing," Mikan gasped, "But I thought you photograph scenery."

"Yeah, well, I tend to put objects together in different arrangements and take pictures," Youichi said, motioning towards the pictures on the wall, "But I got bored. I kind of want a human model. And I found the perfect one."

Mikan's heart rate sped up as she forced herself to look cool and composed, "Oh? And who would that be?"

He leaned in and spoke right in her ear, "You."

The woman shivered as he pulled away. The way his lips brushed against the shell of her ear sent shivers down her spine.

"O-Okay," Mikan said, taking off her coat so all she was left in was her black dress.

Youichi got the camera and paused for Mikan to make a posture. Only, she didn't know what to do.

"Just make any kind of pose," Youichi shrugged.

Mikan rolled her eyes but decided to joke around. She placed a hand on the back of her neck and dramatically looked up. Hearing his chuckles as the camera flashed, she dramatically sighed, saying, "This is the neck pain posture."

For the next pose, she placed a hand on her back and looked at a wall with a look of dramatic horror. Youichi snickered and Mikan answered, "This is the back pain posture."

In the next picture, Mikan grabbed her shoulder and contorted her face into a wince, and said, "This is the shoulder pain posture."

"Okay, why don't you act natural… like the beautiful person you are? Flaunt it, show it off and brag about it," Youichi said.

The young woman pondered for a moment. How would she appear sensual and sexy? She looked around the room and found what she was looking for, a chair. She dragged it to the middle of the room and turned it around, so she would be sitting and her chest would be resting against the back of the chair.

She slid her spaghetti straps and let them dangle off her shoulders a bit. Yanking her hair out of its hairstyle, she messed with it until she perfected a husky look. She half-lidded her eyes to appear like she was a predator.

"Like it now?" Mikan asked, looking down and biting on one of her manicured fingernails.

Youichi gulped but nonetheless took a photo. And another one and another one. Each time she gave him a new sultry pose that never failed to entice him.

Until, it became too much and he shut his camera off and yanked her into a kiss. When things got too heated, Mikan anchored her legs around his waist and he hastily walked to the bedroom.

And what happened after that was pure magic for the both of them… but none of your business.

 **TBC…**

 **A/N: Disappointed? I told you, I do not write lemon or limes! Read my profile page before you flame me.**


	6. Friends With Benefits?

**A/N: Hey guys sorry for the long wait! College had been stressful with registering for classes and with finals around the corner? YEESH.**

Birds were chirping and sunlight peeked through the window making the room brighter. The brunette could've sworn if she didn't know any better, she might be in one of those cheesy Disney movies in which everything is so perfect.

Mikan sighed and tried to get up. Keyword: _tried._ She couldn't even move a millimeter before she was yanked back down onto the bed. It felt like something, or rather _someone_ was pinning her down to the bed.

Panic surged through her veins as she was thinking of the worst case scenario: she just got kidnapped, drugged and raped. She was sure of it… SHE WAS NAKED!

She began to hyperventilate and her movements began to stir Youichi and eventually wake him up too. Mikan calmed down after she realized that the man she slept with was her friend, not a total stranger. Then… all the memories from last night flooded her brain. And a huge blush crawled up her neck as she remembered exactly what they did last night. To her, it was a miracle she remembered what happened, even though she drank the whole bottle of alcohol on their date.

"Oh my… did we?" Mikan asked.

Youichi saw the panic and thought that she was starting to regret sharing the experience with him on the bed last night. What if she was imagining or pretending that he was her ex-boyfriend Natsume? What if she was trying to fool herself into thinking that they were never over? Or what if she is regretting this because of his reputation as a player?

" _Have you ever cheated on a girl?" Mikan asked on their first meeting; they were playing the 20 questions game with a bottle of wine._

 _Youichi downed his shot of red wine, making her grimace in response._

" _Wow, I thought your answer was going to be a no," Mikan mumbled._

" _I am not a player for no reason, now am I?" Youichi grinned, "I have a reputation to uphold. Now, it is my turn to ask you a question."_

 _Mikan rolled her eyes but had allowed him to ask her a question, and the rest of the game Mikan asked him random questions, not even asking him intimate stuff like his virginity status, his preferences, and his 'identity'._

It dawned upon him. No matter she would panic. Mikan is a fiercely loyal person and would expect her boyfriend to be no less than her standards of loyalty. And she would wish that her next boyfriend would be the same.

He shrugged, trying to play it off like nothing; he knew it would hurt her, but in the end, she would find someone better than him.

Mikan's eyes widened as she hyperventilated, "What do you mean you don't know?! If I remember correctly, YOU drank only one glass of alcohol while I finished the rest!"

"Nobody was forcing you to," Youichi said.

"Well they tend to throw it away if you don't finish it!" Mikan snapped.

"So?" Youichi asked.

"So, my point is that not everyone is as rich as you are! Some people who are middle class like me would hate to see such stuff go to waste, not that I like expensive stuff!" Mikan snapped.

There was a tense silence after her mini-outburst and Mikan was raging on the inside. _He had sex with me when I was in a drunken state and he plays it off like nothing? Well if he wants to play a game, two can play it._

Mikan forced herself to relax, and using her amazing acting skills, she put up an air of indifference and said, "Oh well. Even if we did do the deed, I am no stranger to sex. After all, you weren't my first."

Such a careless statement made Youichi's fists curl under the bedsheets in extreme jealousy. He had a hunch it was Natsume, and if the theory was proven true, he would like to murder the guy.

The brunette smirked when she saw she had an effect on him; seeing his conflicted facial expression, she knew that she was doing a good job. Mikan kicked the covers off her body and proudly displayed her naked body to Youichi.

"O-Oi! What are you doing?" Youichi yelled when she sauntered off to put on her clothes. Such a sight had an effect on him; almost like how foreplay got him excited for what was yet to come.

"Oh, just getting dressed," Mikan smirked, "I have to get home so I can get ready for work, you know."

"Why does every day have to be a work day for you?" Youichi groaned, looking at the calendar and sure enough, Mikan was right; it was a weekday.

"Well I work on the weekdays, Youichi," Mikan shrugged, placing on her under-garments and shrugging on her top and pants, "It's your fault for not dropping me off home last night with my state of mind that time."

"Tease," Youichi muttered.

"Oh, am I? Because I thought this was all no-strings-attached," Mikan cruelly smiled, then picked up her bag which had all of her stuff in it.

That last comment hit him hard and he suddenly felt bad for taking advantage of the situation. Hastily shrugging on his boxers and placing some clothes on randomly he called after her, "Wait! I can drop you off!"

"No thanks, I texted my cab driver. He is going to be here in half a minute," Mikan said in a cold tone, "Besides, your socks don't match."

He barely had time to search his feet when he heard the door close. A car screeched to a halt and a slam of a door signified Mikan got in the cab and the car sped off, probably towards his house.

-x-

"So we haven't caught up in a while," Hotaru smirked, "Not much after I dared you to go talk to that Greek God."

"Excuse me I hope you know your boyfriend is right here," Ruka coughed.

Hotaru rolled her eyes and snapped, "Ruka you know I won't love another guy like I love you. But even you have to admit, that dude we dared her to speak to was good looking."

Ruka nodded.

"And he's a sex pervert," Mikan mumbled.

"Come again? OH MY GOD WHAT DID YOU TWO DO?" Ruka screeched.

The raven haired woman elbowed her boyfriend in the gut and when he whined about the pain, she rolled her eyes and faced her best friend with a serious face, "No but seriously, did you use protection?"

Mikan's face contorted in disgust, "Why would you ask that? Of course we did!"

"Okay now that we can all agree that she's a responsible adult, RUKA, how was it?" Hotaru asked.

"I-I don't know," Mikan asked.

"So he raped you, didn't he?" Hotaru asked, "Or your were too drunk to remember."

"The latter," Mikan sighed.

"Then how can you be too sure that he used protection?" Ruka asked and all over again began to fuss over Mikan like he was her father.

Hotaru hit her boyfriend upside the head and ignoring his protests, she said, "I am sure there was proof, right, Mikan?"

"He… was wearing it when we woke up," Mikan blushed.

"Oh okay ew. He was possibly sober and he didn't have the energy to throw away the condom?" Hotaru gagged.

"Honestly like I said, I don't know. He was wearing it and that was proof that he didn't have sex unprotected with me," Mikan said, upset.

"So then why are you upset? Maybe because you didn't remember it due to being drunk when it happened?" Hotaru asked.

Mikan shook her head and fiddled with her thumbs as she whispered, "Because he shrugged it off like it was nothing to him."

A moment of silence followed the last remark and honestly it made her nervous. She finally gathered the courage to look at her friends. She expected for them to look at her with a look of disgust; a look of disgust for readily having sex with someone who clearly spelled out "PLAYBOY" over his forehead.

But their facial expressions held a furious gaze, not directed at her, but for the boy who didn't value her as much as she should be. They were internally planning Youichi's death in their minds.

"Guys? You are making me nervous," Mikan nervously laughed, "Say something."

"I'm gonna kill him," Hotaru glowered and squashed her new cigarette onto the ground, losing interest in smoking at the moment.

"I think… it is best if you two can help me keep some distance away from him until we get things cleared out," Mikan said, "I don't know what runs through his head, you know."

"Okay, we will try not to murder him," Hotaru sighed sadly.

Mikan shook her head and said, "I am pretty sure I do not want you to be executed for his death, Hota-chan. Keep it rational."

"Hard to keep it rational with that perverted d-"

"Hotaru," Mikan said quietly.

Hotaru caught herself and sighed, nodding. Ruka slung his arm over her shoulder and tugged her to lean into him. Mikan caught the sight of the gesture and wished that she could be in such a stable, loyal and loving relationship like Ruka and Hotaru.

-x-

For the next couple of weeks, Mikan had successfully avoided Youichi. He would constantly ask her if she wanted to hang out with him. She would always bluntly refuse him in the name of health; she said she needed to catch up on all the sleep she didn't get because of him.

And when she bluntly refused him in person, her phone would get overwhelmed with missed calls, voicemails, texts, and emails. But Mikan would constantly ignore them. Hotaru even asked her why she was doing it; she could just block him. But Mikan shook her head, saying that seeing him beg was so much more fun, and honestly, he deserved it. It could serve to deflate his ego once in a while.

But one day after work, however, Mikan was not so lucky anymore.

She had been packing up her stuff when out of the corner of her eye she spotted him making his way towards her. So, she hastily crammed her personal belongings in her purse and flinging her jacket in her arms, she made a run for the door.

But alas, he was a faster runner than her, so he caught up with her. He yanked on her right elbow and twirled her around when she stumbled backwards. Mikan's hazel eyes narrowed dangerously when her eyes made eye contact with Youichi's eyes.

"What do you f*cking want?" Mikan cussed, her hands forming into fists when she said this.

"Please, just let me explain," Youichi pleaded.

"Explain? There is NOTHING to explain! Apparently, what happened last night was some kind of experiment! And I shouldn't feel so hurt by that because I should've known how you would have seen me as, as a friend with benefit!" Mikan snapped, slapping his hand away forcefully.

The words made him wince, and it somehow hurt him that all she wanted to be with him is just a best friend. He could beg to differ. As he got to know her better and better, he wanted to be in a real relationship. He kind of felt like she would be the one who is worth giving up his playboy ways and be a loyal boyfriend.

"Just let me explain to you," Youichi whispered, hoping not to cause a big scene.

Mikan didn't catch the hint and rebelliously crossed her arms and tapped her foot, "Quit whispering you wimp. And tell me here. I don't have much time to waste on you."

"Not here, at my place," Youichi said.

The brunette opened her mouth to retaliate, but saw the pleading look in his emerald eyes and immediately felt powerless against them. Damn his eyes. His effing gorgeous eyes.

"Fine, but then you're driving me home after that," Mikan snapped and stormed outside to his car.

-x-

Youichi explained the emotions that were going through his head that morning, and Mikan was slowly starting to feel guilty for not taking into consideration his thoughts as well.

"I guess I can understand," Mikan whispered, drinking her hot cocoa.

"Like I said, I'm very sorry," Youichi said.

"Yeah having sex with me was a huge mistake, wasn't it?" Mikan grimaced, placing her cup down and now having a desire to leave before she broke down in tears.

"No, wait that's not true!" Youichi said, grasping onto her hand and preventing her from leaving.

"Then what is?" Mikan snapped.

"I do want to," Youichi whispered.

"Yeah for the physical pleasure," Mikan snorted and once again making her way to the door, "I am pretty sure there are other women easy enough to make your friend with benefit. Go choose from them."

He once again ran after her and pulled her back. But this time when he twirled her around, he crashed his lips onto hers, lifted her up, wrapped her legs around his waist and walked towards the bedroom.

If she wanted to know how special she was to him, then he will tell her EXACTLY how special she is. Through actions.

-x-

Next morning, the two were of course, naked under the covers. It was magic each time he did it with her, and he couldn't ask for someone else to share the experience with him. Sure he was no virgin before he met her, but she made him feel like one: shy and inexperienced.

Then his phone buzzed as he was cuddling with Mikan after he woke up. He twisted his body slightly so he could grab the phone.

 _Hmm… might be a text from Nobara, or Persona… maybe even dad,_ Youichi wondered as he entered the passcode in. But it wasn't from them.

It was from Aoi. His heart stopped when he read the text.

 _To: Yo-chan_

 _From: Aoi-chan_

 _Message: Can we meet up at my favorite café, Glowing Embers, today? At 4 in the afternoon? I need to talk to you._

 **TBC**


	7. When The Past Catches Up

Youichi's body froze and became rigid at the text. That made Mikan feel uncomfortable to the point she untangled her arms from around his body and sleepily woke up.

She sleepily eyed her lover who was trying to hold something down. Cocking an eyebrow, she wondered if this morning was going to be a repeat of the morning after they first made love, or in blunt terms, had sex. Because if that is the point, she gave him the second chance and she would be leaving his effed up world.

"Something wrong?" Mikan asked slowly.

"Uh… no! I just have to go use the restroom!" Youichi bolted from the bed and, without giving any notice to his naked form, ran to the restroom.

"What's up with him?" Mikan asked, and shrugged.

As she got dressed, she heard a flush of a toilet, the sink run for a couple of seconds and then the door opened and closed. Hurried footsteps led to the bedroom as Youichi opened the door and hurriedly throw on some clothes.

"Going somewhere?" Mikan asked.

"Do you have work today? Isn't it Friday?" Youichi asked.

"It is _Saturday_ ," Mikan rolled her eyes, "And why are you so eager to see me gone? Usually you would be upset and pout like a child that I have work like any other responsible adult has."

"Yeah well something came up and my father wants to have a family get together," Youichi hurriedly made up an excuse.

That made the brunette halt, "He isn't trying to rope you back into your family business, is he?"

"No, he just wants to catch up with me. I had become distant with him for a long while and he just wants to spend some time with me," Youichi lied, "You know, because parents always wish the best for their kids, right? Even though they have their own way of showing it."

Mikan had no more doubts lingering her mind of this man. The touching thing he said about his dad got her all emotionally worked up. She found it so heart-warming that he wanted to fix ties with his father. She doesn't have parents so this completely convinced her of his lie.

"Oh, that sounds so nice!" Mikan exclaimed and found his phone vibrated, a text from _Aoi._

 _So, are you coming to Glowing Embers at 4 or not?_

"Who's Aoi?" Mikan asked.

Youichi froze. _Crap._

"That's my little sister," Youichi lied again, "She's a little cutesy with her nicknames and always loves to call me Yo-chan, much to my embarrassment."

Mikan let it go; this girl wasn't calling him with an ending of _-koi_ or saying _aishiteru_ or having expressive lovey dovey emojis like a girlfriend would do through texts. So maybe she was a little cute sister.

"Alright, okay well I texted my cab driver for a ride home," Mikan shrugged, still not understanding why there was a feeling of hurt. Why would he want to get rid of her?

"Okay. You know the way to the door," Youichi said, not looking at her while he changed.

This really hurt her; he was starting to sound like Natsume when her ex started to drift off from her in their relationship.

"Yeah, I sure do know the way, thanks for your help," Mikan said sadly as she walked out the room, not catching Youichi's look of guilt of the impact of his words.

-x-

It ate at Mikan's mind that awkward and rushed moment in the morning. There were a million scenarios running through her mind.

 _Maybe he's cheating on me, but we aren't dating!_

 _Maybe he finds me boring in bed._

 _Maybe he found someone better than me._

 _Maybe I don't look pretty enough!_

 _OR MAYBE… that girl wasn't his sister! Maybe it is a girl who he had been secretly dating behind my back! BUT WE AREN'T EVEN OFFICIAL! ARGH!_

The worry took its toll and she decided to do what Hotaru told her when she called her best friend around noon – follow him to that place where he is supposed to meet up with his 'sister' and father, and watch him. Only there will she get her real answer.

She decided to wear a shawl on her head and wear sunglasses, to look anonymous. But really all she would do was draw attention to herself. Like who hides their identity if they aren't a celebrity? NO ONE!

But she didn't want him to see her so she had to do anything to look unrecognizable. But honestly, she looked suspicious. This would have to do, unfortunately. She wasn't a wizard from Harry Potter and doesn't have an invisibility cloak like he does.

She locked the door and walked to the said café. She sat on a bench and took out a thin book and pretended to read when in reality she was scanning the café.

There was a pretty girl who had coal black hair and ruby eyes. Kind of reminded her of Natsume's little sister, Aoi… who was a total bitch to her when she was dating her ex.

The color drained out of her face when she realized the most horrible truth: Youichi had lied to her. Not once, but twice.

And her fears got accentuated when her lover walked to the café and sit at the table her ex's sister was sitting at.

-x-

Youichi looked uncomfortable when he walked into the café. His ex-girlfriend stuck out like a sore thumb and she was making every indication that she knows him, from those watery eyes, puppy-dog expression, and even her body was twisted so she could look at him with a hurt expression.

Now the whole café thought he was the douchebag who probably abuses his girlfriend and uses her as a ticket to look like a nice guy in public. As if celebrity media wasn't bad enough, the public was worse at interpreting situations, in his opinion.

"So you wanted to meet me?" He said stiffly sitting down.

Aoi nodded, tears leaking out of her eyes as she sniffled to wipe them away. Her thick mascara got dabbed onto her handkerchief, making her look like a clown with the makeup she not too wisely decided to apply before breaking out into tears. She planned this whole show, didn't she?

"I made a mistake," she whispered.

"Oh so now you're pregnant? And somehow I am the father?" Youichi snorted; he couldn't help but act like a jerk to her, not when she publicly humiliated him by turning down his proposal.

Her left hand glittered with a small diamond ring.

"So you're married and you have the nerve to meet me here?" Youichi asked, shaking his head, "You make me sick."

"No, I am engaged," Aoi defended herself.

"And how is that supposed to make me feel better?" Youichi snapped.

"I do not love him," she whispered.

The young man huffed and cruelly chuckled, "Well that's none of my business-"

"I LOVE YOU," she whisper/yelled.

"No, you don't," Youichi shook his head.

"Yes, I do!" Aoi insisted.

"That's rich, coming from you, who told me on our restaurant date a couple months ago said they didn't want to marry me and said they weren't in love with me-" Youichi started to rant but was cut off by Aoi smashing her lips against his.

Her vice-like arms looped around his neck and people in the café started to aww, as they expected this 'heartbroken' man to melt and kiss her back with equal passion.

But he pushed her away with all the force he could muster but steadied her when she was about to tip the chair backwards from his force.

"Just stop it already!" Youichi yelled, "What has gotten into you?!"

"If I say I want to be with you, will you take me back?" She whispered.

This was supposed to be the moment, where he would say yes. How long he spent moping that night after she rejected him, calling her cell phone, sending her texts, sending her emails even. Always getting ignored, and hoping that that next effort would succeed. The people in the café stopped their conversations, paused mid-order, the barista was watching, the people in the line were observing and the employees were gazing from over their shoulders.

They were all expecting for him to say yes. And somehow it felt wrong to lie anyways and give into what other people want. The hell, if they don't understand his messy situation, then they shouldn't get too judgy for him turning down an ex.

"No," Youichi shook his head, "I wouldn't."

"W-Why not?" Aoi's eyes pricked with tears; she successfully caused commotion in the café and people were now whispering how much they hated the guy she was on a date with.

"Because when I proposed to you a couple of months ago, in front of a whole restaurant you turned me down saying you weren't in love with me and you didn't want to be in a relationship with me," Youichi said.

"B-But we had been broken up for a while before you proposed. Out of nowhere you called me and said you wanted to marry me like you were doing some kind of contest! You can't expect me to catch instant feelings for you right then and there!" Aoi yelled.

"I admit that was jerky on my behalf; a lot of my friends were taunting me to get settled, and I took it too seriously," Youichi sighed, "But it took me a couple of months and a new friend I made to realize that how delusional I was to think love could be won over by an expensive engagement ring."

"Exactly! And after that I started to think about how sweet you were and maybe I do have something for you still in my heart! Youichi crash my wedding and sweep me off my feet! I don't want to marry Kei," Aoi sobbed.

But he stood firm, shook his head and said, "That's the point. That ring was extremely expensive, that it was one that celebrities wear as their engagement ring. He isn't rich enough for you so that's why you came crawling back to me, didn't you?"

She stayed quiet, and hushed whispers filled the room; people were shocked for thinking that this girl was an innocent person, when in reality she was such a materialistic person who leeched off of people.

"I rest my case. Goodbye," Youichi snapped, throwing down some money to pay for whatever she ordered and stormed out of the restaurant.

From the corner of his eye, he could make out a girl with straight brunette hair run in the opposite direction… in the direction of Mikan's house. And he knew she saw him being kissed by Aoi.

 _Well crap._

-x-

She avoided him like the plague. Whenever he tried to reach out to her she would coldly turn him away. And once she even threatened to call the cops on him.

He knew he hurt her badly, even worse than their first time making love. At least she was a bit open for him to explain that he did feel something; and she couldn't demand proof because you can't extract your emotions and display them for someone to see. They are things you express.

But now, she would not listen to him, even if she said that Aoi forced herself onto him. And he even lied to her, so it would be twice as hard to convince her.

"So what's wrong?" Nobara asked, one day when he was just flipping through scenic photographs he took.

"Nothing," he sighed, just sappily surfing through more photos.

Nobara was ticked off so she stormed over and pressed the 'OFF' button on his camera, making the young man annoyed and finally turn his attention to her.

"I was using that camera," Youichi snapped and was about to turn it right back on when she yanked it right out of his hands and placed it elsewhere.

"Hey!" Youichi yelled.

"What happened?" Nobara asked, "That day you met up with your ex?"

Youichi sighed in irritation but nevertheless answered, "She wanted to meet up with me. She said she got engaged and regretted saying yes to her boyfriend, now fiancé. I didn't feel jealous, just annoyed that she could ever think of being okay with being married to a guy and cheating on him with another."

"But that never used to bother you before," Nobara shrugged.

"Mikan changed that," Youichi said.

The girl's eyes widened when she exclaimed, "That girl I dared you to talk to?"

"Yeah," Youichi mumbled.

Nobara grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to him and urged him to continue.

"Well, then she made this huge love declaration and staged it in a way that the café thought that she was a victim trying to piece together a relationship or make her boyfriend look nice… I don't know, but she was surely painting this façade of an angel really well. I wasn't having it and in mid-rant, she cut me off by kissing me," Youichi whispered the last part.

"Wait… she KISSED YOU?!" Nobara explained.

"She did, I pushed her off, she tried to win me back but I held her off at a cold distance. Turns out she came crawling back to me because her fiancé couldn't offer an engagement ring as expensive to as the one I proposed to her with several months ago with," Youichi sighed, "She had been a gold-digging bitch and I overlooked it."

"So what happened next?" Nobara asked, now sensing something was not right.

"Well apparently that morning I made some sort of lie about how at 4 at the Glowing Embers café, Aoi _my sister_ and my _dad_ wanted to meet up with me because I never interacted with them much and I was trying to strengthen ties with me and my family," Youichi said, "She must have followed me to see if what I said was true or not."

"But you lied to her," Nobara clarified.

"Yes, because she saw my text message thread," Youichi said, "And it wasn't suggestive of a relationship because I deleted all of her other texts and she sent a simple one asking to meet up."

"I understand why she would be angry at you," Nobara sighed and got up.

Youichi was suddenly interested, and asked, "So what is it?"

Nobara scoffed as she said, "Are you dumb? How many brain cells do you have after you dated those stupid women? Mikan is jealous! You were so sketchy that morning so generally any normal person wouldn't probe but have suspicions. So, she followed you to see if it is true. You two kissed and just proved her worst fears true, Youichi. And the fact that you lied about your relationship with Aoi makes it worse."

"But she never met Aoi!" Youichi exclaimed.

"She is Natsume's little sister you moron! That idiot you were trying to impress just so you could date Aoi is that heartbreaker who Mikan talks about!" Nobara yelled, "Even I knew that!"

The color drained out of Youichi's face when he heard that. He had no idea and it always bothered him when the answers were screaming in his face. They say we live in a small world, but he never knew it to be so teeny tiny in which your ex is related to your lover's ex.

That's fucked up.

"So what do I do?" He asked, lost and broken.

His answer was a thump to the head and a simple answer from Nobara.

"You apologize to her, Romeo."

-x-

The next day, after work he went to get a bouquet of Mikan's favorite flowers, white lilies, a huge green teddy bear (to match his eyes) and several balloons.

He parked his car outside Mikan's place but saw another car blocking his path on her driveway. When the car door opened, he saw raven black hair and blood red eyes and straight immaculate auburn hair and hazel eyes.

 _Natsume and Mikan._

He walked her to the doorstep, twirled her around, kissed her, and she pushed him away and went inside. Natsume left with a disappointed look on his face.

But Youichi drove away as soon as he saw the kiss. He didn't see Mikan reject Natsume. And the same incident happened like the one near the café.

The two had never been driven away in the name of Jealousy as they had been recently. It was tearing them apart.

 **TBC**


	8. Falling Apart And Falling Back Together

Mikan closed the door after Natsume forced a kiss on her and sighed. Great… all the work she had done to forget him had gone down the drain.

Why did she even respond to his stupid, 'How are you?" text? It led to them spending time together, and then that drive home and then him kissing her on her porch.

It was so cheesy, now that she thought about it. All the guys do it in the movies, where when they go on a date with a girl for the first time in their lives, they kiss the girl on their porch as they drop the girl off, promising or kind of bribing the girl that she may get more of where those kisses came from… if she went on another date with him.

But right after Natsume kissed her, she heard a car abruptly drive away. What if that was… oh no.

Mikan sat down on her couch and started freaking out. Her mind went into overdrive, trying to placate herself with comforting thoughts by coming up with excuses.

 _Maybe it was a total stranger!_ But the neighborhood is a quiet, remote one.

 _Well, maybe the person mistook his house for yours!_ But there is no other house that looks like herss.

And then her pessimistic side of her brain thought, _Well, that car does happen to look a lot like that playboy's van._

And the only people who know her address are Hotaru, Ruka, Natsume, Aoi and most recently… Youichi.

She sat there, frozen for a couple minutes now realizing that he got the wrong impression and thinks of her as some kind of person who thinks of love and dating as a game of hopscotch. When one guy is boring, she could just toss the pebble and hop to another on one foot. But that's not what happened.

 _Yeah, but that is what he saw,_ her pessimistic side snorted.

Suddenly her phone buzzed and chimed, indicating a notification. When she unlocked her phone, it turned out it was a text. Mikan prayed that it would be a text from her friends or maybe even Natsume. But no, the heavens didn't answer her prayers because it was from the one person she did NOT wish to receive a text from. Yep, you guessed it… the bad boy!

 _To: Mikan_

 _From: Youichi_

 _Message: Meet me at our favorite restaurant tomorrow at 2 pm. WE HAVE TO TALK._

The uppercase letters made her wince. Oh no… he was serious. And not only was he serious, he was beyond furious. She knew this when he didn't have ANY emojis in his texts, because he is a super expressive person and emojis are his way of conveying emotions.

"Someone please give me the strength to get through this in one piece," Mikan said silently in a prayer, before heading upstairs to go to sleep.

-x-

The next day, Mikan drove herself. She had some kind of feeling that if this meeting didn't end well, she will have to go home herself, and she didn't want anyone to see her crying in public.

Parking her car and pulling the key from the ignition, Mikan could only wish she could leave the restaurant. But she knew that would be a cowardly thing to do. She has to confront him as well and set the record straight with this 'Aoi' and if he and her are dating or not.

Mikan walked into the restaurant and told the receptionist, "I am Yukihira Mikan? A friend of mine named Hijiri Youichi has a reservation?"

The woman nodded and looked through the list. When she saw the list, her face lit up and she nodded. She gestured Mikan towards a waiter and said, "He will show you to the table."

Mikan nodded and the young man guided her to the table where her best friend was sat, and he looked calm and collected. His eyes, however, told a whole different story. The eyes which glitter with happiness were a dark forest green stormy with anger.

The brunette gulped and sat down across from him. The waiter handed them some menus and asked if they had any idea what they would like to order.

Mikan was scared out of her mind to request anything but she didn't have to say anything. Youichi answered for her.

"No, not yet. We're going to decide," Youichi politely said.

The young man nodded and said, "If you make up your mind, call a waiter or waitress over."

"Noted," Youichi said as the young man walked away.

There was a tense silence between the two, with neither saying a word. When another waiter pestered them, Youichi ordered water. When he probed further, he gave him 'the glare' and the young man shivered and walked away, telling them to take their time finalizing their order.

"So, I guess you took him back," Youichi said.

"No, I didn't," Mikan shook her head.

"Oh really? Because you two kissed on your porch and I guess you were into the kiss," Youichi snapped.

"I was not. He kissed me but I pushed him away. I think that van was yours, and right after he forced a kiss on me, you drove away," Mikan glared, "You didn't even wait to see my reaction. So how can you accuse me of something like that?"

"Well I didn't see your reaction, that's correct," Youichi nodded, "So for all I know you could be lying to me."

"I am not!" Mikan whispered angrily, slamming her fist on the table; a couple tables away from the couple a group of young women flinched.

Mikan sent them an apologetic look with an unspoken 'sorry' woven into her facial features. Then another tense silence set over the table. But this time it was Mikan who broke the silence.

"So, you have the nerves to blame me for a kiss I never accepted, so why don't we bitch over the fact that you met up with my ex's sister and kissed her in the café, _Glowing Embers_?" Mikan snapped.

"Like I told you, she's my ex!" Youichi exclaimed, "She got engaged to some dude and when she realized he wasn't as rich as I was, she wanted to rope me back into her manipulative ways with those puppy dog expressions and weak act!"

"No, you never told me she was your ex!" Mikan snapped, "You only told me that she was your _sister,_ and I am pretty sure that siblings do not kiss each other. Maybe they do but incest isn't something you see on the street."

"Then how did you know she was Natsume's sister?" Youichi asked.

"You don't know? Those two look like twins! Aoi just happens to look like a female version of him on the outside and inside. Coal black hair, blood red eyes, and a bitchy, manipulative, egoistic personality to complement their looks," Mikan snapped.

"I guess you aren't over him like I thought you were," Youichi said softly after a minute of thought.

"We were in a long-term relationship, Youichi. You know, I am not some player who plays a game of hopscotch when it comes to serious relationships, okay?" Mikan seethed with tears burning in her eyes.

Youichi leaned across from the table and said, "Do you love me and feel nothing for him?"

Mikan couldn't answer to that question because deep down it is a cruel question; you can't be expected to feel nothing for your ex when you start a new relationship. Sure you may feel stronger feelings for your next partner, but you will always have some kind of feelings remain for your old flame, and there will always be that spot reserved for that person.

Youichi knew he shouldn't have asked, because he knew that her past relationship meant more to her than his past relationships did to him. Because hers had meaning to her, his was just a game. There was no emotional attachment. He only went out with Aoi because she was cute and seemed shy and reserved. Also why he had a distasteful view of Yuki when Mikan introduced him in the club.

"I have to know, and I don't want to sleep with you knowing that on your mind you still think about him. I want you to have me on your mind, love me instead and do not have any intentions of dumping me for him," Youichi said and tearfully left the table.

Mikan just sat there for a long time after he left. She didn't budge or anything. Eventually a waitress who finished an order had to come snap her back to reality.

"I literally got bailed out on so I think I'll just leave," Mikan whispered.

"Hey," the girl called out, "Wait here. I will sneak you a big slice of cake in a takeout container."

"Why?" Mikan asked.

"Because heartbreak is nothing a good slice of cake can't fix, right? And maybe if it doesn't fix the situation, at least you will slightly feel better after eating it," the girl smiled.

"Okay thank you so much. How much will that be?" Mikan asked.

"I slipped some money into the cash register so they think you paid for it," the girl winked.

"You paid for it!" Mikan whispered.

"From my tips, of course. Look it is no big deal, you need something sweet and that dude was a jerk to just leave you like that. Work things out or never see him again, I don't care. I just want you to feel better in the end," said the waitress before she disappeared and came back with a heavy takeout box.

"There you go. Watch your favorite TV show or something and eat this cake. Feel better okay?" The waitress smiled.

Mikan sniffled, feeling the tears prick at her eyes and her throat close; the cake didn't necessarily make her feel better, but the waitress's kind actions touched her heart.

"Y-Yeah, I will," Mikan smiled shakily, "Thanks."

With that, she took the box and went to her car. The moment the door closed, she broke out into a new wave of tears and sobs.

-x-

Mikan had gone home that day and called Hotaru over. She explained the whole fight in the restaurant to her raveh haired friend and then prepared to hear the worst from her.

"What a jerk," Hotaru said, chucking her pack of cigarettes at a wall.

"He can't just demand you do not have feelings for someone," Ruka said, "That's not reasonable."

"Look I don't know what to do guys," Mikan said feeling miserable.

"Maybe… you should spend the night at our place. If he comes stomping back here like Natsume, he won't give you a peace of mind," Ruka shook his head, "Not until he gets what he wants."

"I-Is that too much of a burden?" Mikan asked in surprise.

Hotaru quickly recovered and slung her arm over Mikan's shoulders and smirked, "Of course not! I am your best friend. I will always allow you to crash at our place!"

"Thank you," Mikan smiled, "I would like to take that offer."

Later that night after Ruka went to sleep, Hotaru found a video posted on her facebook feed that might catch Mikan's attention. Apparently Mikan was tagged in a video by a user who goes by the name of… Youichi Hijiri.

"Mikan… you have to see this," Hotaru whispered as she took a pair of earbuds out and plugged it in the phone, giving one to her friend and placing one in her ear.

Mikan cuddled closer so she could see the phone screen and Hotaru tapped 'play' with the pad of her thumb, and turned it sideways so the video screen adjusted.

Youichi was sitting there, looking awkward because he didn't know how stuff like this works. Then he awkwardly ruffled his hair to get the nonexistent piece of hair that obstructed his view. Then he started his long monologue about this girl who stole his heart.

"Well I am pretty sure that everybody knows because he TAGGED YOU in the post," Hotaru shook her head.

Mikan laughed and shook her head but intently listened to his monologue.

He talked about how he never thought of women as anything more than prize possessions who he could easily win with some money. But then a girl taught him not everything can be bought, and as he spent more time with a girl with a personality like never seen before, he saw love in a new light. He talked about his incident in the café in which the girl saw, misinterpreting the kiss that he was in love with an ex-lover when in reality he was in love with the mystery girl. And lastly the video ended with an apology.

"If you're watching this, Mikan, forgive me," Youichi said, tears sparkling in his eyes as he wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie; he then leaned forward, pressed the button and the video was over.

The two girls were in silence. Then Hotaru spoke up.

"So now you know the truth. Are you going to give him another chance?" Hotaru asked.

Mikan's eyes didn't budge from the screen as she whispered, "Should I?"

"I don't know him like you do. I think he sounds sincere, but you spent more time with him than I did. You are the best judge of that," Hotaru said.

-x-

Youichi thought that the only way to forget the mess was to dive back into work… which proved to be difficult.

As he was arranging stills to take photos in his studio, assistants were trying to arrange them to his liking. However, his helpers were female… and that didn't work too well.

"Sir, is the arrangement the way you like it?" A petite redhead asked.

"Well, I would like the fruits arranged like-" Youichi started but then was cut off in shock when he began hallucinating that the woman's head was replaced with Mikan's.

"Oh, so it isn't right for you, now is it? I placed it like this, too tacky. Moved it one millimeter to the right, oops now it is asymmetrical! Why don't you get your lazy butt and do it yourself!" 'Mikan' yelled at him.

He stood still and stunned when her face disappeared and was replaced by the young woman's.

"Sir, how would you like it arranged?" The woman asked, slightly worried for him.

"N-No I like it!" Youichi stammered.

"Are you sure? You were not happy with it," the woman sullenly said.

"No, it's great! I like the new arrangement!" Youichi hastily said making the woman smile.

After clicking a couple of photos, he doing a whole different arrangement. He was starting to feel out of it, and then a hand came on his shoulder. Turning around, he was surprised to see 'Mikan' again.

"What? You're getting tired already? Wow you're so weak! Get a grip or else you will fall behind!" 'Mikan' scoffed.

The young man was too shell shocked that he didn't catch that Nobara was worriedly shaking him trying to see if he wanted something to eat or drink.

"You're tired! Are you sure you don't want something to eat? Drink? Maybe you should take a rest," Nobara said.

"No I am fine, let's continue," he said, stubborn to not let Mikan invade his mind as he tried to do his job.

After the photoshoot, he was thumbing through the photos he took that day. They were good. His boss would love the photos he took. As he was about to shut off his laptop, he came across the folder labeled, "MIKAN" on his desktop. The folder contained pictures he took of that night of their pretend Valentine's day date.

As he flipped through the photos he saw a shadow form on his right. The source of the shadow was a giant brown teddy bear with an emerald bowtie around its neck.

"Mikan?" Youichi asked slowly.

The scrawny hands hugging the teddy bear around its waist tightened and trembled in fear. Yup, it was her.

"Mikan I am not mad at you," he said gently, trying to pry the teddy bear off her face.

But when he pried the stuffed animal off of her and set it on the table, Mikan refused to look at him, making him feel hurt. The brunette buried her face in her hands and mumbled out one tiny sentence he couldn't decipher.

"I'm sorry, what?" Youichi asked, straining to hear what she was saying.

"I was scared," Mikan whispered.

"Why?" Youichi asked, then mentally slapped himself after asking such a stupid question.

"Because Natsume never came off as the person to cheat on me, at least I never knew that he would," Mikan said, "And I guess I just stereotyped you that since you were a player with a long list of ex-girlfriends, you would cheat on me if we dated."

"But how would you come up with the conclusion that I would cheat on you? That doesn't add up," Youichi asked, confused.

"Because remember when we first met? We did that game of 'Have You Ever' where if our answer was yes, you drink a shot of wine? When I asked you if you cheated on a girl you drank some wine," Mikan pointed out.

That struck him. Of course, any person would be wary of that fact. They would want a loyal partner, not someone who had a history of cheating. But somehow, she would just have to trust him that he has changed for the better and no other woman has made him feel the way he did now.

"Mikan, I know I had a past as a player. But that was because I had lived a lavish lifestyle and sometimes when you're on top of the world with no financial concerns, you feel like you can buy the whole world, you know, have it at your fingertips. I thought that way, and thought women shouldn't be any different. I ran into you and your teasing, feisty ways were unlike any submissive, clingy women I ran into before. You changed me and it was for the better. Look please give me a shot, and I can show you how much I have changed all for you," Youichi begged; hell he would get on his knees if he had to plead with her.

Mikan, through the spaces between her fingers, looked at his face, and then nodded.

He smiled, but then frowned when she was still covering her face.

"Mikan, show me your face," Youichi softly insisted.

"No, my face is ugly," Mikan shook her head.

"How can it ever be ugly?" Youichi asked, appalled.

"It's blotchy from crying," Mikan hiccupped.

"I am pretty sure you're overexaggerating but even if it is blotchy I think you're still beautiful," Youichi rolled his eyes and pried Mikan's hands away from her face.

Sure, her face was a little red from crying but her face wasn't blotchy like she said. He leaned in, stole a kiss from her and then slung an arm around her shoulder.

The two walked away, going inside Youichi's house, calling each other nicknames. And the story of the most unlikely love couple has come to it's end.

 _-el fin-_

 **A/N: I am so awkward with endings on chapter stories… sorry. Okay this is the end, and NO SEQUALS! If you want to complain, you PM me if you want to continue it and then you continue it on your own profile! (Just make sure to give me credit for the prequel).**


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